I took up cricket again last season and really enjoyed my season. I batted several times and never one wore a helmet as the pitches we play on the ball rarely reaches above waist height.
Phil was using an older style helmet as professionals dont like to change their equipment, a bit like a dart thrower not changing his weight/style of darts. There was a newer helmet available to Phil with about an extra inch of cover at the back but who knows even if he was wearing that helmet things still could of turned out the same.
I guess what im getting at is this was a very rare freak accident which is like to never happen again. I hope Shaun Abbott manages to recover from this, he must me in a terrible place right now.